Dutch lift veto on Croatia accession talks

The Dutch government has lifted its reservations to the EU starting negotiations with Croatia on a crucial area of membership talks, after authorities in Zagreb set up a taskforce to find documents needed for the UN’s prosecution of Croatian generals indicted for war crimes.

The UK, Denmark, Finland and Belgium dropped similar reservations earlier this month, leaving the Netherlands the last EU member state to block chapter 23 of the accession negotiations, on the judiciary and fundamental rights,

Chapter 23 had been blocked because a United Nations war-crimes court in The Hague was unhappy with the co-operation forthcoming from Zagreb.

The authorities in Zagreb had long said that they were unable to locate documents that Serge Brammertz, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague (ICTY), said were needed in the case against retired Croatian general Ante Gotovina and two other former generals. Croatia has now created a taskforce to find the documents.

Maxime Verhagen, the Dutch foreign minister, told the Dutch parliament yesterday that the step was intended to “encourage Croatia to continue to vigorously reform its judicial sector”.

“Croatia still has to make significant improvements in the judiciary, the public administration and the fight against corruption,” Verhagen told lawmakers. He made it clear that full co-operation with the ICTY would be a condition for closing the chapter, maintaining a level of pressure on the government of Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor.

“They are not off the hook,” a Dutch diplomat said.

Preparatory work is still needed before chapter 23 can be opened, including agreement among EU member states on the conditions for completing negotiations, the so-called ‘closing benchmarks’.

Slovenia gives go-ahead for talks

Another obstacle to Croatia’s progress to the EU was yesterday confirmed to have been removed, when Slovenia’s Prime Minister Borut Pahor confirmed that he had given the green light for the EU to start talks with Croatia on two chapters of EU legislation at Croatia’s next accession conference, on Friday (19 February). Slovenia had prevented the opening of three chapters at the last accession conference in December.

Of the 33 chapters in which the accession talks are divided, Croatia has closed 17. Another 11 remain open, leaving five that have yet to be opened.

Diplomats expect Croatia to open at least two chapters next week and the remainder in April.

Croatia hopes to complete the talks this autumn and to enter the Union as its 28th member in 2012.

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Dave

It should be mentioned that the EU itself has failed to hand over documents to the ICTY, which perhaps is partly behind the Dutch decision. What sanctions are to be taken against the EU?

And is this the same Dutch who handed Muslims over to the Serbs at Srebrenica?

Posted on 2/12/10 | 2:37 PM CEST

Dave

It should be mentioned that the EU itself has failed to hand over documents to the ICTY, which perhaps is partly behind the Dutch decision. What sanctions are to be taken against the EU?

And is this the same Dutch who handed Muslims over to the Serbs at Srebrenica?

Posted on 2/12/10 | 2:37 PM CEST

Dave

It should be mentioned that the EU itself has failed to hand over documents to the ICTY, which perhaps is partly behind the Dutch decision. What sanctions are to be taken against the EU?

And is this the same Dutch who handed Muslims over to the Serbs at Srebrenica?

Posted on 2/12/10 | 2:37 PM CEST

Dave

It should be mentioned that the EU itself has failed to hand over documents to the ICTY, which perhaps is partly behind the Dutch decision. What sanctions are to be taken against the EU?

And is this the same Dutch who handed Muslims over to the Serbs at Srebrenica?

Posted on 2/12/10 | 2:37 PM CEST

Stephan

What were the Dutch to do? They did not have a proper mandate from the UN, and the French refused to support the light armed troops with air support.
The thing that really bothers me is, why are we having entrance talks with these devastated economies? Haven’t we learned from Greece, Portugal and Spain? Does the EU really need another bankrupt state to enter the Union? How much longer will the healthy northern states be prepared to support the rampant corruption and financial malpractices of the southern states? The EU has become a goal in itself, it seems to me.

Posted on 2/13/10 | 12:55 PM CEST

Stephan

What were the Dutch to do? They did not have a proper mandate from the UN, and the French refused to support the light armed troops with air support.
The thing that really bothers me is, why are we having entrance talks with these devastated economies? Haven’t we learned from Greece, Portugal and Spain? Does the EU really need another bankrupt state to enter the Union? How much longer will the healthy northern states be prepared to support the rampant corruption and financial malpractices of the southern states? The EU has become a goal in itself, it seems to me.

Posted on 2/13/10 | 12:55 PM CEST

Stephan

What were the Dutch to do? They did not have a proper mandate from the UN, and the French refused to support the light armed troops with air support.
The thing that really bothers me is, why are we having entrance talks with these devastated economies? Haven’t we learned from Greece, Portugal and Spain? Does the EU really need another bankrupt state to enter the Union? How much longer will the healthy northern states be prepared to support the rampant corruption and financial malpractices of the southern states? The EU has become a goal in itself, it seems to me.

Posted on 2/13/10 | 12:55 PM CEST

Stephan

What were the Dutch to do? They did not have a proper mandate from the UN, and the French refused to support the light armed troops with air support.
The thing that really bothers me is, why are we having entrance talks with these devastated economies? Haven’t we learned from Greece, Portugal and Spain? Does the EU really need another bankrupt state to enter the Union? How much longer will the healthy northern states be prepared to support the rampant corruption and financial malpractices of the southern states? The EU has become a goal in itself, it seems to me.

Posted on 2/13/10 | 12:55 PM CEST

Mladen Matosevic

Yep, that were Dutch who stood by in Srebrenica while Serbs took Muslims to killing fields. But at least they should know best difference between Croatian and Serbian behaviour during war. Problem ICTY has is that Ante Gotovina was depicted as Croatian Mladic and whole Croatian ascension to EU was blocked till he was found. On Azores, btw, where no direct flights from Croatia goes. Now only accusation standing against him is if he ordered one or two gun salvoes on Knin. Without that, he might go as a free man. To make cynicism completed, there were never pictures of destroyed Knin as town had not been destroyed. It was not hit nearly as Vukovar, not even bombed as Dubrovnik or Zadar. And certainly not leveled as Gaza, where is not likely anyone will go to trial. Apparently, all what can be done now in Croatia isto find and punish destroyer of certain archive material. I see inefficiency of courts in Croatia as much bigger problem, but on that argument at least of third of current members should be expelled.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 3:17 AM CEST

Mladen Matosevic

Yep, that were Dutch who stood by in Srebrenica while Serbs took Muslims to killing fields. But at least they should know best difference between Croatian and Serbian behaviour during war. Problem ICTY has is that Ante Gotovina was depicted as Croatian Mladic and whole Croatian ascension to EU was blocked till he was found. On Azores, btw, where no direct flights from Croatia goes. Now only accusation standing against him is if he ordered one or two gun salvoes on Knin. Without that, he might go as a free man. To make cynicism completed, there were never pictures of destroyed Knin as town had not been destroyed. It was not hit nearly as Vukovar, not even bombed as Dubrovnik or Zadar. And certainly not leveled as Gaza, where is not likely anyone will go to trial. Apparently, all what can be done now in Croatia isto find and punish destroyer of certain archive material. I see inefficiency of courts in Croatia as much bigger problem, but on that argument at least of third of current members should be expelled.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 3:17 AM CEST

Mladen Matosevic

Yep, that were Dutch who stood by in Srebrenica while Serbs took Muslims to killing fields. But at least they should know best difference between Croatian and Serbian behaviour during war. Problem ICTY has is that Ante Gotovina was depicted as Croatian Mladic and whole Croatian ascension to EU was blocked till he was found. On Azores, btw, where no direct flights from Croatia goes. Now only accusation standing against him is if he ordered one or two gun salvoes on Knin. Without that, he might go as a free man. To make cynicism completed, there were never pictures of destroyed Knin as town had not been destroyed. It was not hit nearly as Vukovar, not even bombed as Dubrovnik or Zadar. And certainly not leveled as Gaza, where is not likely anyone will go to trial. Apparently, all what can be done now in Croatia isto find and punish destroyer of certain archive material. I see inefficiency of courts in Croatia as much bigger problem, but on that argument at least of third of current members should be expelled.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 3:17 AM CEST

Mladen Matosevic

Yep, that were Dutch who stood by in Srebrenica while Serbs took Muslims to killing fields. But at least they should know best difference between Croatian and Serbian behaviour during war. Problem ICTY has is that Ante Gotovina was depicted as Croatian Mladic and whole Croatian ascension to EU was blocked till he was found. On Azores, btw, where no direct flights from Croatia goes. Now only accusation standing against him is if he ordered one or two gun salvoes on Knin. Without that, he might go as a free man. To make cynicism completed, there were never pictures of destroyed Knin as town had not been destroyed. It was not hit nearly as Vukovar, not even bombed as Dubrovnik or Zadar. And certainly not leveled as Gaza, where is not likely anyone will go to trial. Apparently, all what can be done now in Croatia isto find and punish destroyer of certain archive material. I see inefficiency of courts in Croatia as much bigger problem, but on that argument at least of third of current members should be expelled.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 3:17 AM CEST

Ivo

Oh yes Dutch, NATO, UN and especially lovely governments of US, UK, France and Russia are directly responsible for Srebrenica and Žepa events but they will never, ever been brought to justice of course, that’s the world in which we are living.

As for EU, what to say, all accession talks are one big circus. That’s nice example why EU is for sure declining on world stage.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 4:29 AM CEST

Ivo

Oh yes Dutch, NATO, UN and especially lovely governments of US, UK, France and Russia are directly responsible for Srebrenica and Žepa events but they will never, ever been brought to justice of course, that’s the world in which we are living.

As for EU, what to say, all accession talks are one big circus. That’s nice example why EU is for sure declining on world stage.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 4:29 AM CEST

Ivo

Oh yes Dutch, NATO, UN and especially lovely governments of US, UK, France and Russia are directly responsible for Srebrenica and Žepa events but they will never, ever been brought to justice of course, that’s the world in which we are living.

As for EU, what to say, all accession talks are one big circus. That’s nice example why EU is for sure declining on world stage.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 4:29 AM CEST

Ivo

Oh yes Dutch, NATO, UN and especially lovely governments of US, UK, France and Russia are directly responsible for Srebrenica and Žepa events but they will never, ever been brought to justice of course, that’s the world in which we are living.

As for EU, what to say, all accession talks are one big circus. That’s nice example why EU is for sure declining on world stage.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 4:29 AM CEST

Frederic

@Ivo
Well, just put the blame on everyone but the murderers themselves.
The Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, and the Croats are responsible for the atrocities they inflicted on each other. Foreign governments tried to intervene, but, alas, they failed. An indescribable tragedy happened in former Yugoslavia. But don’t put the blame on Western governments. It was not their responsibility to sacrifice their own young men in a war that wasn’t theirs. But nevertheless they did. A little bit more respect would be suitable. Pointing the finger is easy, accepting responsibility for the atrocities is the hard thing to do.
As for your second remark. Why should the EU member states allow more states to enter the EU if they can’t contribute to the overall welfare? EU membership is a great privilege. All Croatia would do is suck the wealth from the other states. I for one, I am not eager to share a border with such a corrupt state. The EU isn’t about ruling the world like an Empire. We already did that at great costs to our civilisation. It is about living in peace and prosperity in an advanced civilisation, with a strong army solely for defensive purposes, just like the EU member states are doing now.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 1:10 PM CEST

Frederic

@Ivo
Well, just put the blame on everyone but the murderers themselves.
The Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, and the Croats are responsible for the atrocities they inflicted on each other. Foreign governments tried to intervene, but, alas, they failed. An indescribable tragedy happened in former Yugoslavia. But don’t put the blame on Western governments. It was not their responsibility to sacrifice their own young men in a war that wasn’t theirs. But nevertheless they did. A little bit more respect would be suitable. Pointing the finger is easy, accepting responsibility for the atrocities is the hard thing to do.
As for your second remark. Why should the EU member states allow more states to enter the EU if they can’t contribute to the overall welfare? EU membership is a great privilege. All Croatia would do is suck the wealth from the other states. I for one, I am not eager to share a border with such a corrupt state. The EU isn’t about ruling the world like an Empire. We already did that at great costs to our civilisation. It is about living in peace and prosperity in an advanced civilisation, with a strong army solely for defensive purposes, just like the EU member states are doing now.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 1:10 PM CEST

Frederic

@Ivo
Well, just put the blame on everyone but the murderers themselves.
The Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, and the Croats are responsible for the atrocities they inflicted on each other. Foreign governments tried to intervene, but, alas, they failed. An indescribable tragedy happened in former Yugoslavia. But don’t put the blame on Western governments. It was not their responsibility to sacrifice their own young men in a war that wasn’t theirs. But nevertheless they did. A little bit more respect would be suitable. Pointing the finger is easy, accepting responsibility for the atrocities is the hard thing to do.
As for your second remark. Why should the EU member states allow more states to enter the EU if they can’t contribute to the overall welfare? EU membership is a great privilege. All Croatia would do is suck the wealth from the other states. I for one, I am not eager to share a border with such a corrupt state. The EU isn’t about ruling the world like an Empire. We already did that at great costs to our civilisation. It is about living in peace and prosperity in an advanced civilisation, with a strong army solely for defensive purposes, just like the EU member states are doing now.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 1:10 PM CEST

Frederic

@Ivo
Well, just put the blame on everyone but the murderers themselves.
The Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, and the Croats are responsible for the atrocities they inflicted on each other. Foreign governments tried to intervene, but, alas, they failed. An indescribable tragedy happened in former Yugoslavia. But don’t put the blame on Western governments. It was not their responsibility to sacrifice their own young men in a war that wasn’t theirs. But nevertheless they did. A little bit more respect would be suitable. Pointing the finger is easy, accepting responsibility for the atrocities is the hard thing to do.
As for your second remark. Why should the EU member states allow more states to enter the EU if they can’t contribute to the overall welfare? EU membership is a great privilege. All Croatia would do is suck the wealth from the other states. I for one, I am not eager to share a border with such a corrupt state. The EU isn’t about ruling the world like an Empire. We already did that at great costs to our civilisation. It is about living in peace and prosperity in an advanced civilisation, with a strong army solely for defensive purposes, just like the EU member states are doing now.

Posted on 2/14/10 | 1:10 PM CEST

Stefano

In Croatia there is a high and dangerous nationalist feeling and ethnic hate against both serbs and muslims. The situation is very serious above all the return of the serbs in their houses (someone remembers the operation storm when the serbs’ houses was burned and the columns of the civil serbs’ refugees bombed) and the hostility with the serbian investors.It would be pay attention over these aims because until now nothing has been done.

Posted on 2/15/10 | 6:27 AM CEST

Stefano

In Croatia there is a high and dangerous nationalist feeling and ethnic hate against both serbs and muslims. The situation is very serious above all the return of the serbs in their houses (someone remembers the operation storm when the serbs’ houses was burned and the columns of the civil serbs’ refugees bombed) and the hostility with the serbian investors.It would be pay attention over these aims because until now nothing has been done.

Posted on 2/15/10 | 6:27 AM CEST

Stefano

In Croatia there is a high and dangerous nationalist feeling and ethnic hate against both serbs and muslims. The situation is very serious above all the return of the serbs in their houses (someone remembers the operation storm when the serbs’ houses was burned and the columns of the civil serbs’ refugees bombed) and the hostility with the serbian investors.It would be pay attention over these aims because until now nothing has been done.

Posted on 2/15/10 | 6:27 AM CEST

Stefano

In Croatia there is a high and dangerous nationalist feeling and ethnic hate against both serbs and muslims. The situation is very serious above all the return of the serbs in their houses (someone remembers the operation storm when the serbs’ houses was burned and the columns of the civil serbs’ refugees bombed) and the hostility with the serbian investors.It would be pay attention over these aims because until now nothing has been done.

Posted on 2/15/10 | 6:27 AM CEST

Perisha

@Stephan
“The thing that really bothers me is, why are we having entrance talks with these devastated economies?”

For the same reason US supported Europe after the World War 2. EU is trying to integrate those states because it does not want another war to break up in its neighborhood so it would have to deal with refugees and crime. So in my opinion it is highly important for the EU to integrate those states.

Posted on 2/15/10 | 9:32 AM CEST

Perisha

@Stephan
“The thing that really bothers me is, why are we having entrance talks with these devastated economies?”

For the same reason US supported Europe after the World War 2. EU is trying to integrate those states because it does not want another war to break up in its neighborhood so it would have to deal with refugees and crime. So in my opinion it is highly important for the EU to integrate those states.

Posted on 2/15/10 | 9:32 AM CEST

Perisha

@Stephan
“The thing that really bothers me is, why are we having entrance talks with these devastated economies?”

For the same reason US supported Europe after the World War 2. EU is trying to integrate those states because it does not want another war to break up in its neighborhood so it would have to deal with refugees and crime. So in my opinion it is highly important for the EU to integrate those states.

Posted on 2/15/10 | 9:32 AM CEST

Perisha

@Stephan
“The thing that really bothers me is, why are we having entrance talks with these devastated economies?”

For the same reason US supported Europe after the World War 2. EU is trying to integrate those states because it does not want another war to break up in its neighborhood so it would have to deal with refugees and crime. So in my opinion it is highly important for the EU to integrate those states.

Posted on 2/15/10 | 9:32 AM CEST

Branko Miletic

It disgusts me that Croatia wants to be part of an EU that contains such hypocrites as the Dutch government. The same government that colluded and then collapsed to the Serbs allowing them to butcher 8000 people in Srebrenica…….why aren’t the Dutch under the spotlight?…oh yes, I forgot— the Protestant Euro mafia are untouchable whilst the rest of us are second or third class ameobas. Too bad Croatia has to cower to this type of arrogance.

Posted on 2/18/10 | 6:09 AM CEST

Branko Miletic

It disgusts me that Croatia wants to be part of an EU that contains such hypocrites as the Dutch government. The same government that colluded and then collapsed to the Serbs allowing them to butcher 8000 people in Srebrenica…….why aren’t the Dutch under the spotlight?…oh yes, I forgot— the Protestant Euro mafia are untouchable whilst the rest of us are second or third class ameobas. Too bad Croatia has to cower to this type of arrogance.

Posted on 2/18/10 | 6:09 AM CEST

Branko Miletic

It disgusts me that Croatia wants to be part of an EU that contains such hypocrites as the Dutch government. The same government that colluded and then collapsed to the Serbs allowing them to butcher 8000 people in Srebrenica…….why aren’t the Dutch under the spotlight?…oh yes, I forgot— the Protestant Euro mafia are untouchable whilst the rest of us are second or third class ameobas. Too bad Croatia has to cower to this type of arrogance.

Posted on 2/18/10 | 6:09 AM CEST

Branko Miletic

It disgusts me that Croatia wants to be part of an EU that contains such hypocrites as the Dutch government. The same government that colluded and then collapsed to the Serbs allowing them to butcher 8000 people in Srebrenica…….why aren’t the Dutch under the spotlight?…oh yes, I forgot— the Protestant Euro mafia are untouchable whilst the rest of us are second or third class ameobas. Too bad Croatia has to cower to this type of arrogance.